Ryan Zimmerman became the second $100MM player on the Nationals' payroll earlier today when he inked a six-year, $100MM extension with a full no-trade clause and a $24MM option for a seventh year. Here's some notes and reactions from around the baseball universe:
- Dave Cameron of FanGraphs examines some comparables and calls the extension a "fair price" for a "valuable skill set." The Nationals won't save a ton of money on this deal, according to Cameron, but Zimmerman will earn the value of the deal barring lingering injury issues.
- Jon Heyman of CBS Sports writes that the Nationals spent a lot of money for a player with Zimmerman's injury history, especially with Anthony Rendon waiting in the wings. One competing executive told Heyman, "Seems like they have two $100-million contracts but no $100-million players.''
- The no-trade clause doesn't come into effect until 2014, but Mark Zuckerman of CSNWashington.com tweets a quote from GM Mike Rizzo explicitly stating Zimmerman "will not be traded the next two years."
- Getting that no-trade clause in place was the final hurdle in the deal, tweets MLB.com's Bill Ladson.
- Amanda Comak of the Washington Times observes that Zimmerman joins Matt Kemp, Ryan Braun, Troy Tulowitzki, Prince Fielder, and Albert Pujols as the only players under contract through 2019 (Twitter link).
- Zimmerman's deal won't impact any contract negotiations between David Wright and the Mets, according to Andy Martino of the New York Daily News (Twitter link).
- Wright recognizes that his situation is different from Zimmerman's, according to ESPN's Adam Rubin. Wright also expressed that he's happy for Zimmerman, who is a close friend.
Good deal for both sides, especially the Nationals.
good deal for wright, It is overpaying for Nats, no need to give him his max market price after a down year, they could have waited 2 years and that deal might make sense if he has some good years.
his value could have gone up.
true, but in more cases than not the actual value would be lower. Athletic ability usually peaks at age 27.
I think it’s more that it begins its peak at 27 and generally peaks around 30-31…
Honestly that’s about the amount I expected David Wright to possibly get from the Mets as well but we still have a another year before we worry about that atleast…
Let’s see, you have a guy who by both the eyeball test and all defensive metrics is the best defensive 3b in the NL and one of the top 3 in baseball (he, Longoria and Betre are in the top 3 in UZR since 2009). Over the past six years he has averaged more than 137 games per season, is good for 25-30 home runs and 40-50 doubles per season, has a knack for the dramatic (EIGHT walkoff home runs in six years?). His RBI totals are low, but that’s because he has batted third for an organization that has had consistent problems finding #1 and #2 hitters that actually get on base, much less into scoring position. He is #12 in MLB in WAR, and in 2009 and 2010 hung back to back >7fWAR seasons on the board. Oh, and he just turned 27. The team kept the first couple of years relatively low in price, and $10 million of his compensation is deferred until after he retires – all of which effectively brings the cost of the deal down.
None of these guys are “worth” the contracts that they sign … but in baseball terms this is not an overpay.
Dude well put, i couldn’t have “typed” it better. I believe Zimmerman is one of the best all around 3B in baseball and his contract is relatively low when compared to some of these other player’s contracts.
I agree with everything you said about Zimmerman, but if you could find a way to determine the amount of revenue a team makes off of a single player, Zimmerman is definitely worth his contract, simple economics, if there’s no outside interference, the market sets the right price.
Believe it or not, despite the money they’re paid, the best NBA players are underpaid because of the max salary limit. The MLB does not have this, and so most players are paid what they are worth, and the only overpaid players are those who make minimum salary and are barely in the Majors to begin with.
Good argument, except Zimmerman has hit 25 or more home runs just twice in the past six seasons, and has not hit 40 doubles in the past four.
If he stays on the field, he should hit those numbers.
Hear. Hear. I like Heyman but his crack about Zimmerman only appearing in one All-Star Game is especially ridiculous. That’s like saying that “Crash” is a better movie than “Raging Bull” because the latter never won the Best Picture Oscar.
Just because other teams overpay doesnt mean that you have to. Zim is a good player…. but the money could be better spent. Especially when that player has gotten injured in 1/2 of his mlb seasons.
No need to give him a free agent value deal when he is 2 years away from free agency and has shown to be injury prone. Only give him that deal if he isn’t injured and hits 30+ hr in those 2 years.
Could be better spent elsewhere? WSH has to overpay free agents (i.e. Werth) to get them in there.
Zimmerman is one of the rare Nats that is actually flourishing at a high level consistently. Not to mention the fact that their won’t be any good younger options anytime soon (Wright, Youk are both available in ’13, but aren’t nearly the 3B that Zimmerman is and can be).
Yes, WSH will need to address the CF situation – as they’ve needed to for several years now – but with a few big names on the free agency market in ’13, they’ll have the money to get one of those names (Bourn, BJ Upton, Victorino, Hamilton).
In an offseason that saw Fielder get $200M+, I’d much rather have Zimmerman’s extension at the hot corner.
It’s amazing how people jump ship on a guy when he had one injury plagued season isn’t it? I.E. Peyton Manning.
don’t want to give him $100M with a full no-trade? haterrr
Zimmerman wasn’t kidding when he offered a “hometown discount”.
Zimmerman wasn’t kidding when he offered a “hometown discount”.
Reports out of DC are that the no-trade doesn’t kick in until after 2013, but that there are “significant financial escalators” that would kick in if he were to be traded before then. So the team retains some flexibility.
Zimmerman is a very good player on offense and defense when healthy, but his health is a major question. With Rendon seemingly right around the corner I don’t know if now was the time to sign him long term. Not a bad deal. Its probably going to be quite good for both sides because he will only be around 35 when its up as opposed to a lot of past prime mega deals that end in the 40’s.
I dont know how much Rendon is really going to challenge Zim for 3b. Rendon has had a quality college career at rice and is a very nice prospect but based on his body size, he seems more of a fit at 2b.
If you compare him to other MLB players and their positions it demonstrates my point.
Baseball reference has Rendon listed at 6′ 190lbs – in the past 6 months ive seen him listed as low as 5’10/185. A body size like his profiles more of a 2b than 3b.
Comparables at 3b: Zim 6’3/230; Wright 5’11/195; Longoria 6’2/210; beltre 5’11/220; Arod 6’3/228; Mark Reynolds 5’11/220; ARam 6’1/205; Rolen (as a young player) 6’4/235. The only player that I have found at 3b that is smaller is Brandon Inge 5’11/188.
Comparables at 2b: Pedrioa 5’9/180; Kinsler 6’/200; Ackley 6’1/185; Utley 6’1/195; Freddy Sanchez (who also plays 3b from time to time, but is primarily a 2b) 6/195; Cano 5’11/200
It seems to me that Rendon would be more of a threat to D.Esp.
He’s a very good player, maybe great, but NOT worth 100mill!!!
If a 27-year old homegrown star who has been with your organization since it came about and is one of the best at his position in baseball isn’t worth it, who is worth 100mm? He’s a better player than Fielder or Reyes and signed for much less money.
And by all those factors, seeing MIN rewarding their homegrown #1 pick, Joe Mauer, a few years ago with a $184 million deal, WSH got away lucky.
Frankly, WSH needed to do this as a P.R. move, knowing how difficult is has been to get free agents in there (and quality players…Greinke), this is at least a step forward that WSH is trying to do what the Marlins aren’t doing and that’s building long-term stability.
Glad to see the NL East get better by keeping Zim in house. Go Braves!
big difference between homegrown and hometown+homegrown
My son’s Zimmerman jersey is gold for a few more years!
How many guys have to be called “overpaid” until people notice they’re saying it too often to have it make sense? When you consider Wright’s numbers lately, how little A-Rod and Youkilis are probably going to be able to play at third, and the ugly experiment Cabrera is likely to be over there, Zimmerman starts to look like he’s being underpaid, because he still has a bit of upside going into his age 27 season. I think the worst case scenerio for Zim is the nagging injuries continue and he’s something like Scott Rolen, but that’s still damned good.
couldn’t have said it better myself. the term ‘overpaid’ is being overused more than a hooker at a night club.
The no-trade clause in the contract was a win for the nats. Because of the 5 and 10 rule he would automatically get a no trade clause after the 2015 season, so the clause that was included in the contract would only apply for 2 seasons.. Zimmerman gave the nats a discount because of the clause. The Nationals got a great deal.